A group of 25 riders from the Des Moines area left Waukee on Saturday morning, Jul 13th 2013, for a weekend ride to “Scoop the Loop” on the Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT). We planned to do the loop in two sections by riding the north loop on Saturday and the south loop on Sunday. Our overnight stop would be a campout at Springbrook State Park, about 6 miles west of the town of Yale.
We gathered at the RRVT trail head in Waukee with a planned departure of 10 AM. Both parking lots were filled to capacity and overflowing a bit. A rider counted 75 cars with several more that arrived after the count was taken. We hit the trail about 10:20 with a lovely tail wind out of the south east. The wind-assisted ride to Dallas Center took only about 15 to 20 minutes for most of the riders. It was fun to be riding at 15 MPH or more while coasting! We weren't ready for a break yet, so after a short stop for water we were on to Minburn. The 6 miles to Minburn were just as easy as the first leg, so we were soon on to Perry.
The group arrived in Perry around 11:30 AM and decided it was time for a refreshment stop. There are two local watering holes in Perry right along the trail. Our first choice wasn't even open yet, so we sampled the other establishment. Although a few people were ready for an early lunch, the bar was slightly under-staffed and was struggling a bit to manage the number of folks that were eager for food and drinks. There were a number of customers other than our group also needing service, so we decided for potato chips and pretzels from the nearby Fareway store. One rider suggested Tojo's in Jamaica as a good lunch spot. After a quick phone call ahead to Tojo's to alert them of the incoming swarm, we were on our way again.
From Perry, the trail turned west toward the small town of Dawson. The 6 miles were nearly as easy sailing as the earlier 19 with the wind still somewhat at our backs. The old depot in Dawson has restroom facilities that were open, and what looked to be a museum under construction in the other half of the building. We stopped for water and a photo opportunity under the Dawson depot sign, then headed on to Jamaica.
Tojo's in Jamaica was fairly busy with other riders as well as local customers. We spotted riders from as far away as Indianola. The restaurant was staffed well, with enough people working that the food was arriving in good time. Of course, a highlight of a trip to Tojo's in Jamaica is the opportunity for a Red Stripe beer! Who know we would be sipping on a Red Stripe beer in Jamaica on a lazy Iowa Saturday?
After lunch, the group continued on the RRVT toward Herndon and then south to Yale. At the turn south, we lost our tailwind and had to work a bit harder. Of course since the RRVT is an old railbed, the grade is never very steep and even with a head wind the riding isn't that difficult. The town of Yale was our last stop before heading to the campground. The pub Just Ethel's was open and ready for a new group of riders after several motorcyclists had just left. We didn't meet Ethel, but the bartender introduced himself as “Moe Bacon.” Our group thought that was a pretty good name, and relaxed for a bit at Just Ethel's. Across the street from Ethel's is the Bell Street grocery. This is a small local convenience shop with almost every item you can think of. Weekend commuters on the loop should be aware that the store closes at 4 PM on Saturday.
From Yale, we headed west on the highway to our campground at Springbrook State Park. North Street in Yale is also known as 160th Road outside of town. The road was in pretty good condition and felt like a pretty typical RAGBRAI road. The 6 miles to the park were pretty good, with just a few rolling hills along the way. Riders should be careful at the entrance to the State Park. Mockingbird Hill looks to be about a 10% grade down into the park and should be ridden with caution. A number of cracks on the hill have been recently repaired due to the RAGBRAI crowds heading through next week. There is still some loose gravel in spots so take care.
At Springbrook State Park, we had 3 non-electric campsites reserved for the riders that planned to stay overnight. Be aware that the campground is off-the-grid regarding cell phone service from most cell providers. There is a Wi-Fi hotspot at the camp store for those that need it. Camping was pleasant, with shared appetizers and various grilled items for supper. The temperature didn't really get too high all day with a nice cloud cover, so sleeping conditions were nice. After supper, several of our group headed home via pre-positioned motor vehicles. We were left with 6 tents and about 10 riders for the south loop trip on Sunday. Our camping trip was supported by a gracious sag wagon team who hauled our tents and coolers to the park, and offered sag support along the way.
Sunday morning kicked off with a great bacon and pancake breakfast, including orange juice, cinnamon rolls, and other snacks left over from Saturday night. We were all packed up and ready to hit the road again by about 9:30 AM. The climb back up Mockingbird Hill was right at the beginning of the day's cycling so there was little chance to warm up other than a brief ride around the campground. A few riders chose to use the sag truck to make their way up the hill, but most toughed it out and made it up the 10% grade. Two of the riders were fully loaded with panniers front and back and both made it up the hill successfully. There is a section early in the hill that is the steepest, but fortunately the hill isn't horribly long.
After the 6 miles of road back into Yale, we turned south once again on the trail. We now had to pay back for the 30 miles of tail wind on Satuday. There was a fairly strong wind out of the south and we had about 18 miles to get to Redfield before turning back east again. We hit Panora about 10:30 and were hoping for ice cream at PJ's, but they were not open for business until 11:00 AM so we headed on toward Linden. The water fountain at the rest stop in Linden provided nice cool water for the next 6 miles south east to Redfield.
We hit Redfield about 11:30 AM, still on a quest for ice cream. Sadly for us, the ice cream shop in Redfield didn't open until noon so we just had a short break at the depot for cookies and water. After turning east toward Adel, our head wind dropped a bit but we still had a pretty strong side wind. We made it to Adel about 12:40 AM and headed to the Dairy Shoppe. Our bad timing held with us as they didn't open until 1:00 PM on Sundays! Our need for ice cream was now strong enough that we chose to wait until the store opened. In the mean time, our sag wagon had arrived and we munched on the remaining goodies from the previous night's camping. The Dairy Shoppe has nice picnic tables on the east side of the store and a great set of bicycle racks. After finally quenching our ice cream desires, we headed back up the short hill toward Ortonville and then back to Waukee.
Our mileage for the weekend, including the road portion, was about 84 miles, 44 of which were on Saturday. This is a great ride for a group and suitable for most riders. The trail is quite flat over most of the distance, with the only slightly hilly portion on the road to Springbrook.
Our general observations for the weekend? Businesses along the RRVT still don't really understand the financial potential from the riders along the trail as shown by staffing levels and hours of operation. Bicycle racks are still not readily available, so parking ends up being leaning bikes on the side of buildings. As to the quality of the trail? The new portion is wonderful! It is wide and smooth, with paved crossings on several of the gravel roads. The older portion of the trail is suffering the typical asphalt cracks that appear on all central Iowa trails. It is also narrower than the new portion, but still very rideable.
All in all, it was a great weekend and our group would highly encourage this trip as a fun, easy weekend bike ride. Come on and “Scoop the Loop!”